Let's make the Turning Point USA protest a turning point

How about just ignoring this handful of righteous radicals when they litter our campus?

All I can say is here we go again.

I mean, where's Sgt. Pepper Spray when we really need him?

Okay, I take that back.

Thursday's disturbing incident at UC Davis, where a group of ugly protestors tried to deny the Constitutional rights of the equally ugly non-profit known as Turning Point USA, did not call for anyone to be pepper sprayed.

For those new to town, it was nearly 14 years ago that a campus police officer used pepper spray to break up a peaceful protest by several dozen students on the UC Davis quad.

Photos of the incident raced around the globe faster than the speed of light and for a while the local University Farm was nicknamed PSU for Pepper Spray University.

To this day, I remain convinced that Davis Enterprise photographer Wayne Tilcock deserved the Pulitzer Prize for his compelling photo that captured the exact instant the orange-hued pepper spray hit the protestor's eyes.

In the end, the students who were pepper sprayed, mostly in their eyes, each received a $30,000 settlement and an apology from Chancellor Linda Katehi.

I had been on campus at that very spot the day before with one of my young daughters, but we did not receive a penny. I guess it just wasn't our lucky day.

Katehi held on for a few years before resigning, but in the minds of many, the pepper spray debacle is what ultimately sent her packing.

Which brings us to the mess that transpired on the Aggie campus Thursday afternoon.